Welt turning mechanism of straightbar knitting machines



A rfl W, 1941.. H. W. START HAL. 2 9

WELT TURNING MECHANISM OF STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 20,1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l WELT TURNING MECHANISM OF STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTINGMACHINES Filed May 20, 194K) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 A N W 51?? IH. W. STA Tmm.

WELT TURNING MECHANISM OF STRAIGHT-BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed. May 20,1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ami 1 15, 1941. H. w. START ETAL BAR KNITTINGMACHINES Filed May 20, 1940 WELT TURNING MECHANISM OF STRAIGHT- 5Sheqts-Sheet 5 *atented Apr. 15, l94i WELT TURNING MECSM F STRAIGHT- BARKMTTING MACHlNEh Harry warren Start, canton,

Wilford, England, assignors to and Ernest Start,

George Blackburn and Sons Limited, Nottingham, England Application ltlay20, 1940, Serial No. 3363M In Great Britain March. 4, 1939 8 lllaims.

This invention relates to improvements in the welt turning mechanism ofstraight-bar knitting machines of the type known as cottons, and itsobject is to provide mechanism for this purpose that will perform therequired operating without failure when applied to machines of very finegauge, and is not liable to get out of order.

According to this invention the welt turnin mechanism comprises pointsprovided in connection with a-predetermined number of needles, andadapted to co-operate with the needles and transfer the loops of theinitial course which would be otherwise disposed thereon onto thesinkers when the needle bar is lowered and a set of welt hooks adaptedto receive the loops from the sinkers when the latter are withdrawn,retain the loops whilst a predetermined number of courses are beingknitted to form the welt and then replace the loops on the appropriateneedles to complete the welt.

The welt hooks are adapted to be moved in between the sinkers and theknocking-over hits and are secured on a bar which is disposed at thefront of the needle bar, and when the hooks thereon have received theloops, the first part of the welt can be knitted by usin he Wa t hooksto take up the work, until a sumcient length of fabric has been knittedto permit of the use of welt wires, which are carried and actuated in awell known manner, and are with the present arrangement adapted to drawa loop of the work under the well; hook bar.

When the required length of fabric has been knitted to form the welt,the welt hooks are moved up to the needle bar again, and the loops onthe said hooks are placed on. the needles, the operation of turning the,welt is completed, and the knitting of the remaining part of thestocking effected in the usual manner.

In order to facilitate the operation of returning the loops to theneedles instruments may be provided to press on the needles so that theupper ends of those needles which are to receive the loops are disposedslightly in front of the remainder so that the latter will not passthrough the work. Preferably however the points are brought into actionagain to co-operate with the needles during the replacing of the loopsthereon so that the loops are only placed on those needles from whichthey were removed during the formation of the initial course. a

'The invention will now be more particularly described with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which-- Figs. 1 to 6 show diagrammaticallythe method of transferring the loops on certain of the needles onto thewelt hooks.

Fig. i is a diagrammatic plan showing the work held by the welt hooks. i

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan showing the welt hooks moved into positionto replace the loops on the needles,

Figs. 9 to 12 show diagrammatically one meth- 0d of replacing the loopson the needles,

Figs. 13 to 16 show diagrammatically alternativ methods of replacing theloops on the needles,

Fig. 17 is a sectional elevation, and

Fig. 18 a plan of the welt turning mechanism,

Fig. 19 is a sectional elevation showing the welt hooks moved intoposition to replace the loops on the needles when. a sumcient number ofcourses have been knittedv to form the welt,

Fig. 20 is a front elevation, and

Fig. 21 a sectional elevation showing the point bar operating mechanism.

Like numerals indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

In carrying out this invention, the points i in each division of themachine depend down from a point bar 2 which is disposed above theneedlebar near to the ordinary narrowing points, and this point bar iscarried and operated as will be hereinafter explained by mechanismsimilar to that of the narrowing mechanism. The points are similar tothe ordinary coverer points, but

have 'much longer flutes ii to receive the needle beards and may becarried by the usual plcot bar provided in machines of this type andreplace the usual picot points.

When drawing an initial course, as shown in Fig. l, the needles t are intheir highest position, and the points which are provided in con nectionwith a predetermined number of needles, and are preferably provided inconnection with alternate needles, are disposed on their inner sides andextend down below the point where the course 'is drawn, so thatalternate loops are sunk on alternate needle shanks and the remainder onthe lower ends of the points. In order to permit of this action, theflutes 3 in the points extend up to a point which is, above the level ofthe tops of the needles, when the latter and the points are in thecourse drawing position described and shown in Fis- 1.-

The needle bar subsequently descends the loops on the alternate needlesare drawn into the beards of the latter, whilst those on the. points iare retained thereby as shown in Fig. 2 until'the points of the beardsare below the loops, when the points I are raised and by the continueddownward movement of the needle bar the loops released by the points aredelivered onto the noses of the sinkers as shown in Fig. 3. A furtherresult of this action is that the loops on the alternate needles will beabove the normal length, as they will take yarn from the loops drawn onthe points.

If preferred the initial course may be drawn on all the needles and thepoints then lowered into engagement with the needles so that the loopsthereon are taken by the points in well known manner, when the needlesand points are lowered, instead of entering the beards. When the loopshave been taken on the points the latter stand until the needles havmoved clear of the points when the latter are raised so that the loopsthereon are taken on the sinker noses as in the previous arran ement.

If the loops are taken on the needles as described special points withlong flutes are not required and the ordinary picot points which areprovided in connection with every alternate needle, can be used for thepurpose.

The subsequent downward movement of the needles 4, and the retiringmovements of the sinkers 5, will effect the delivery of the loops on tothe inner ends of the welt hooks 6, which are at this time disposed justbelow the sinker noses as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The needles are thenraised as shown in Fig. 6 and knitting continued in the usual manner onall the needles, the loops on the welt hooks being retained as shown inFig. '7, until a sufiicient number of courses to form the welt havebeenknitted when the loops on the welt hooks are replaced on the needles aswill be hereinafter described.

The welt hooks 6 in each division of the machine are carried on ahorizontal bar 1 which is disposed in front of the needle bar, and thewelt hooks project from this bar in a horizontal direction towards theneedle bar at a level which is just below the sinker noses. This welthook bar is not fixed but is movable in a horizontal plane bodily to andfrom the needle bar. For this purpose the bar 1 slides on transversebearers or brackets 8 (see Figs. 1'7 to 19), and it is moved towards theneedles by a positive arrangement and withdrawn therefrom by anon-positive arrangement.

In order to maintain the welt hooks in their correct position as theyare moved up to and away from the needles, two ribs or plates areprovided on the underside of the welt hook bar and the edges of the ribsor plates engage with the sides of the brackets 8 and prevent movementof the bar in the direction of its length.

In the preferred arrangement the welt bars in each division of themachine are moved up to the needles by positively actuated slides. Theseslides comprise members 9 which are preferably disposed inside thebrackets 8 and provided on their undersides with teeth In which engagewith pinions H secured on an angularly adjustable shaft i2. The shaft I2is angularly adjusted by a pinion l3 engaging with a toothed rack I 4which is connected by the link l5 see Fig. 19, to a lever actuated atthe appropriate time by a cam on the main shaft of the machine. In orderto move thewelt hook bar up to the needles when the slides are actuatedthe members 9 are provided at their inner ends with abutments is toengage with the ends of the welt hook bar as shown in Fig. 19.

The non-positive return movements of each welt hook bar is preferablyeffected, by connecting each end of the bar by straps I! to take-uprollers is secured on a shaft is which extends the whole length of themachine and is actuated in the usual manner by a weight attached by acord to a. pulley secured on the shaft.

A full set of welt hooks is provided on each bar, they are each formedwith a hook 8a at their inner extremities, and also with a shoulder 6b ashort distance from the hook. This shoulder forms a stop which preventsthe loops from sliding along the stems of the, hooks.

In order intake the loops from the sinker noses, the welt hooks aremoved in until their extremities are just below the sinker noses asshown in Fig. 4, and as there are a full set of hooks or one betweeneach pair of needles, the loops transferred from the points onto thesinkers are each taken on two hooks as shown in Fig. '5, which not onlyfacilitates this operation, but greatly assists in the process ofreturning the loops to the needles again, in order to complete theturning of the welt.

The first portion of the welt is now knitted, the work being taken up bythe retiring movement of the welt hook bar I which is effected by thetake up arrangement previously described. When the welt hook bar hasretired to the full extent of its movement, that is moved back intoengagement with the abutments I6, shown in their normal position in Fig.17, the work is further taken up by welt wires 20 which are insertedbefore the bar 1 has completed its full movement and which are operatedin the usual manner by straps 2| connected to the take up roller 22actuated in the usual manner by a weight attached by a cord to a pulleysecured on the shaft 23 which extends along the whole length of the ma-vchine.

When the welt hook bar I has been with drawn to approximately theposition shown in Fig. 17 the welt wires are pressed down on the work 24and engaged under the catches 25 secured to the sides of the brackets 8,the takeup weight on the shaft 23 having been previously removed and thetake up straps 2| placed in the channel shaped guides 26 as shown inFig. 17. When the welt wires 20 have been placed in position in all thedivisions the'guides 26 which are carried by arms 21 secured to a shaft28 are moved by angularly adjusting the shaft 28 by a suitable handlever until the openings 29 in the sides of the guides engage with thewelt wires 20. The take up weight is then gradually applied to the shaft23 when the take up straps 2| are withdrawn until the hooks 30 attachedto the ends thereof engage with the welt wires.

The guides 26 are then returned to their normal position and furtherapplication of v the take up weight draws the welt wires towards thetake 'up roller 22 and draws the work 24 into a loop their lowestposition, the welt hook bar is movedin by the arrangement previouslydescribed so as to place the loops held thereby over the needles as sown in Figs. 8 and 19 so that the latter can rise up and take them.Although the loops held by the welt hooks are extended by the tensionapplied to the work by the welt wires and are readily placed on thecorrect needles there is considerable risk in a fine gauge machine ofthe other needles catching the yarn so that a faulty join is made. Inorder to obviate this any of the following arrangements may be adopted.In one method the operation of returning the loops to the needles isfacilitated by moving the needle bar away from the sinkers and at thesame time bringing the following mechanism into action.

On the inner side of the needle bar in each division of the machine, isa'bar I31 with instruments I32 which work in between the knockingoverbits and are adapted to act on alternate needles. This bar is actuatedso that the instru' ments press the upper ends of those needles on whichthe loops are to be placed towards the Welt hook bar, as shown in Fig.9, and hold them in this position while the needles are raised and thetransfer of the loops is being effected. The upper ends of the needleson which the loops are to be placed are thus disposed clear of the upperends of the remainder which are thus out of the way during the operationdescribed and are prevented from passing through the work.

Alternatively the instruments flit described are disposed on a bar atthe front of the needles as shown in Fig. 10, and in this case, theinstruments are arranged to press back the upper ends of the alternateneedles which are not to receive the loops from the welt hooks.

The welt hooks when they have placed the loops 1 on the needles, mayremain in engagement with the fabric until a further length has beenknitted, and they can then be disconnected without any difficulty andwithout stopping the machine.

In the preferred method of replacing the loops 1 held by the welt hookson the needles the points II are brought into action again. The pointsmay either be moved one needle space and moved down to shield theneedles which are not to receive the loops, whilst the needles are downbetween the knocking over bits, and then moved up with the needles afterthe loops on the'welt hooks have been placed over the needles so thatonly the remaining needles pass up through the work as shown in Figs. iiand i2. Alternatively, the loops on the welt hooks are moved in so as tobe below the-points with the needles in their lowest position and thepoints then lowered to pierce the loops as shown in Fig. 13. The needlesare then moved forward so that the alternate needles move intoengagement with the flutes in the points as shown in Fig. 14 and theneedles and points raised together as shown in Fig. 15 so that the loopspierced by the points are placed on the needles. By pressing the needlesinto engagement with the points the needles engaging therewith arepressed back slightly out of line with the remaining needles so thatthere is no danger of these latter needles passing up through the workwhen the needles are raised. After the needles have been raised highenough for the loops to be positioned on the stems of the needles thepoints are raised out'of action as shown in Fig. 16 and knitting of theremainder of the stocking can then be continued in the usual manner. Thewelt hooks can be removed fromthe Work subsequently without stopping themachine.

The points i are carried by a bar 2 attached by suitable brackets to ashaft 3i. This shaft Si is carried in suitable brackets carried by theshafts 32, 33, which latter are secured in bearings in brackets M. inorder to raise and lower the points into andout of action the shaft 33is carried by the outer ends of arms 35 (see Fig. 21) pivoted on a shaftit disposed at the rear of the machine and is also connected by a link Mto the end of a cam operated lever it. The latter is provided with atruck 39 which normally rides on a disc on the main cam shaft tit andholds the shafts it, 33 in their inoperative position and provision ismade in well known manner for adjusting the position of the truck lidlaterally by studs on the pattern chain of the machine so that it can bemoved into engagement with a cam on the main shaft M at the appropriatetime so that the points are lowered into their operative position andraised out of action again when they have completed the operation whichthey were brought into action to perform.

When it is desired to shield the needles which are not to receive theloops by means of the points as previously described, when the loops onthe welt hooks are being""returned to the needles to complete theturning of the welt, the points must be moved laterally one needlespace. In order to effect this movement the following arrangement isprovided.

cured on the shaft 32.

,Secured on the shaft 3|! is a member ii provided with two abutments it,it which are disposed be" tween two extensions t t, id, on a member ddse- The extensions M, M, are provided with adjustable stops fill, tit,and the abutment M is normally held in engagement with the stop ill by aspring actuated lever W pivoted on the member M as shown in Fig. 20.When it is necessary to move the points laterally the lever M is raisedand the shaft ti which carries the points is moved by the spring htuntil the abutment ilt engages with the stop dd which is set to permitof the required movement. The spring bill is disposed between the memberit and a fixed part of the machine framing which is not shown in thedrawings. The lever it is raised at the appropriate time by a collar hiwhich is secured on a rod hi and engages the underside of the lever whenthe rod at is raised by means of the cam actuated lever ht which isprovided with a truck lit movable into engagement with a cam on the mainshaft M in the Well known manner previously referred to. p

The mechanism just described is not brought into action when the pointsare used to first pierce the loops held by the welt hooks and then placethem on the needles as the loops are put back on the needles from whichthey were removed when the initial course was made and no lateralmovement of the points is required, but if the points used for the weltturning operation described are the picot points provided in the machinethe mechanism can be used for adjusting the position of the points whenthey are carrying out their normal functions.

What we claim as our invention is:

l. Welt turning mechanism for a straight-bar knitting machine comprisingin combination, a set of needles, sinkers, a presser, a set of points toco-operate with a predetermined number of needles, means to lower thepoints into engagement with the needles to take and transfer the loopsof the initial course drawn thereon onto the sinkers, a set of welthooks carried by a bar and means for moving the welt hooks into positionbeneath the sinkers to receive the loops therethen return them to aposition to be taken by the needles from which they were removed tocomplete the turning of the welt, substantially as described.

Welt turning mechanism for a straight-bar knitting machine comprising incombination, a set of needles, sinkers, a presser, a set of points toco-operate with a predetermined number of needles, means to lower thepoints into engagement with the needles to cause the loops of theinitial course drawn thereon to be cast off, a set of welt hooks carriedby a bar, brackets to support the bar, slides engaging with the bar,means to actuate the slides to move the welt hooks into position justbelow the sinkers to receive the loops cast off from the needles and toreturn the loops to the needles when a suillcient number of courses havebeen knitted to form the welt and straps connected between the bar and atakeup roller to take up the work during the knitting of the welt,substantially as described.

3. Welt turning mechanism for a straight-bar knitting machine comprisingin combination, a set of needles, si ers, a presser, a set of points toco-operate with a predetermined number of the needles, means to lowerthe points into engagement with the needles to cause the loops of theinitial course drawn thereon to be cast off, a set of welt hooks carriedby a bar, brackets to support the bar, slides to engage with the bar,teeth on the undersides of the slides, a shaft, pinions on the shaft toengage with the teeth on the slides, means to angularly adjust the shaftto move the welt hooks into position just beneath the sinkers at therequired times, straps connected to the welt hook bar, and a take uproller to withdraw the welt hooks and take up the work during theknitting of a predetermined number of courses of the welt, a welt wire,catches on the brackets for holding the welt wire, straps connected to amain take up roller and provided with hooks to engage with the weltwire, and means for moving the hooks into engagement with the welt wireto take up the work after a predetermined number of courses have beenknitted, substantially as described.

4. Welt turning mechanism for a straight-bar knitting machine comprisingin combination, a

set of needles, sinkers, a presser, a set of points .to co-operate witha predetermined number of needles, means to lower the points intoengagement with the needles to cause loops of the initial course drawnthereon to be cast oil, a set of welt hooks, means to move the welthooks into position to receive the loops cast off the needles,

retain them during the knitting of the welt and then move them intoposition to be taken by the needles to complete the turning of the welt,stops on the welt hooks and instruments to press back the needles fromwhich the loops were cast oil so that the remaining needles do notpenetrate the loops held by the welt hooks, substantially as described.

5. Welt turning mechanism for a straight-bar knitting machine comprisingin combination, a set of needles, sinkers, a presser, a set of points toco-operate with a predetermined number of needles, means to lower thepoints into engagement with the needles to cause loops of the initialcourse drawn thereon to be cast off, a set of welt hooks carried by abar, means to actuate the bar to move the welt hooks into position toreceive the loops cast off the needles, hold them during the knitting ofthe welt and return them into position to be taken by the needles fromwhich they were cast off to complete the welt and instruments to pressforward the needles which are not to receive the loops so that they willnot penetrate the loops held by the welt hooks, substantially asdescribed.

6. Welt turning mechanism for a straight-bar knitting machine comprisingin combination, a set of needles, sinkers, a presser, a set of welthooks carried by a bar, means to actuate the bar to move the welt hooksinto position beneath the sinkers to receive loops of the initial coursecast off the needles, retain the loops during the knitting of the weltand then return them to a position beneath the sinkers, a set of pointsto co-operate with alternate needles, means to lower the points intoengagement with the needles to cause the latter to cast off the loops ofthe initial course drawn thereon and to penetrate the loops held by thewelt hooks when they are moved into position again beneath the sinkersin order to place them on the needles and complete the formation of thewelt, substantially as described.

7. Welt turning mechanism for a straight-bar knitting machine comprisingin combination, a set of needles, sinkers, a presser, a set of welthooks carried by a bar, means for actuating the bar to move the welthooks into position beneath the sinkers to receive loops of the initialcourse cast off the needles, retain them during the knitting of the weltand then return them to a position beneath the sinkers, a set of pointsto co-operate with alternate needles, means to lower the points intoengagement with the needles, and means for moving the points laterallyone needle space to shield alternate needles to that the loops held bythe Welt hooks are only replaced on the needles from which they wereoriginally cast off, substantially as described.

8. Welt turning mechanism for straight-bar knitting machines comprisingin combination, a set of needles, sinkers, a presser, a set of welthooks carried on a bar, means for actuating the bar to move the welthooks into position beneath the sinkers to receive loops of the initialcourse cast oiT the needles, retain them during the knitting of the weltand then return them to a position beneath the sinkers to be taken bythe needles from which they were cast off, a set of points to co-operatewith alternate needles and carried by a bar mounted on a shaft, abracket on the shaft provided with two abutments disposed between fixedstops, a spring actuated lever which normally holds one abutment inengagement with one of the stops, a spring to move the other abutmentinto engagement with the other stop when the lever is moved against theaction of its spring to permit the points to move one needle space toshield alternate needles, substantially as described HARRY WIITFREDSTART. ERNEST START.

